Tag: Chief Borders

Former Ohio State LB officially commits to Florida Gators

Now that Ohio State’s season is over, linebacker Teradja Mitchell has officially announced his transfer commitment to the University of Florida.

On Monday, former Ohio State linebacker [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] officially committed to the University of Florida, confirming a Dec. 21 report from the Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson.

“Florida was the perfect fit for me,” Mitchell told Swamp247. “They were one of the first schools to reach out to me when I entered the portal. Coach (Jay) Bateman has been around and has watched me since high school. He recruited a couple of guys from my area. So we instantly clicked once we had our first conversation. It felt like family.”

Mitchell entered the portal on Dec. 5 after seeing his role in the Buckeyes’ offense reduced in 2022. Florida presents an opportunity for him to make an immediate impact at a school that has depth issues in the linebacker room. The Gators are losing starters [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] to the NFL draft and [autotag]Chief Borders[/autotag] and [autotag]David Reese[/autotag] to the transfer portal; [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] was dismissed from the program in November, too.

Mitchell will join [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag], [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag] as the main players in the linebackers room next year. He should be in town over the coming weekend to get enrolled for spring classes at Florida, meaning he’ll be available to the team during spring practices. Barring injury, Mitchell should easily compete for a starting role.

A former five-star recruit out of high school, Mitchell has as high a ceiling as any newcomer to Florida’s roster. He leaves Columbus with 64 total tackles, including 8.5 tackles for a loss.

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Third Gator headed to Nebraska via transfer portal

The Florida to Nebraska pipeline is at full strength. A third Gator is headed to the midwest to play under Matt Rhule.

A third Gator is headed to the Midwest to join the Nebraska Cornhuskers via the transfer portal. Linebacker [autotag]Chief Borders[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Huskers on Tuesday and will reunite with defensive back [autotag]Corey Collier Jr.[/autotag] and long snapper [autotag]Marco Ortiz[/autotag].

Borders made his decision after taking a visit to Lincoln. He entered the portal on Dec. 7, so it took less than three weeks for him to find a new home. Borders has three years of eligibility left and should help revitalize the Huskers’ defense under new head coach Matt Rhule.

In two seasons with Florida, Borders recorded just three tackles despite playing in 16 games. He played in 12 games for Florida during the 2022 season but mostly in a special teams role.

Borders was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, according to 247Sports. He was ranked the No. 328 overall player on the 247Sports composite for the class of 2021 and was No. 37 among linebackers. Although he played high school ball in Georgia, Borders’ hometown is Chicago, Illinois, so he’s got some familiarity with life in the Midwest.

Florida’s lost a good amount of depth at both inside and outside linebacker (JACK), but the Gators brought in former Ohio State linebacker [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] through the transfer portal and officially signed incoming freshman [autotag]Jaden Robinson[/autotag] on Wednesday.

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This Gators redshirt freshman linebacker heads for the transfer portal

This redshirt freshman linebacker is seeking greener pastures elsewhere.

Florida football lost another player to the NCAA transfer portal ā€” with plenty more to come ā€” on Monday when redshirt freshman linebacker [autotag]Chief Borders[/autotag] announced that he will be departing the team for greener pastures through the collegiate version of free agency. On3’s Hayes Fawcett was the first to report the news.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 241-pound defender played in four games for the Gators in 2021 before redshirting. Those included his collegiate debut in the opener against the Florida Atlantic Owls as well as the Gasparilla Bowl against the UCF Knights, in which he registered his first career tackle.

This season, the second-year player appeared in all 12 games primarily on special teams. He registered a total of two assisted tackles in 2022.

Borders offered the following to Florida fans on his personal Twitter account.

The young man originally from Chicago, Illinois, played high school in Georgia before coming to Gainesville as a four-star recruit during [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s tenure. Borders was recruited by linebackers coachĀ Christian RobinsonĀ and defensive coordinatorĀ Todd Grantham, who convinced him to choose the Orange and Blue over the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Toledo Rockets and Virginia Tech Hokies, among many others.

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2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Outside Linebackers

The Gators have a decent amount of depth at outside linebacker, but it’s Brenton Cox Jr. who leads the group heading into the 2022 season.

After going over the defensive linemen on the team in detail, it’s time to talk about Florida’s outside linebackers room heading into 2022.

These are the edge rushers of the team that are expected to cause havoc opposite of [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] at the strongside defensive end spot. [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. leads the group and is returning for his third year at Florida.

The Gators are only losing two players at the position, [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] to graduation and [autotag]Khris Bogle[/autotag] to the transfer portal, and they added two freshmen in the most recent cycle. Florida still has plenty of depth on the edge, though. Cox should be good for 13 starts barring injury, and there’s a trio behind him that can do the job if he does need any rest.

Here’s a look at all eight outside linebackers/JACK/edge rushers on the 2022 Florida Gators football roster.

See also:

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Running Backs

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Tight Ends

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Offensive Line

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Defensive Line

Coveted 4-star running back recruit makes room for Florida official visit

Big time running back prospect will be making a stop in Gainesville this month.

Now that the calendar has flipped to June, Florida football’s recruiting staff will be hosting a plethora of prep prospects over the coming months starting this weekend. New head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has been burning the candle at both ends with his staff in an effort to get the Gators back on the winning track.

So far, Florida has done a pretty good job clawing back up the recruiting rankings, recently cracking ESPN’s top-25 rankings update and landing at No. 23 as May came to a close. However, there is still a great deal of work remaining and the Gators have not been slacking on the job.

One of the bigger names expected to drop into Gainesville this month is 4-star running back Justice Haynes out of Roswell (Georgia) Blessed Trinity Catholic, who recently made some changes to his summer school tour and managed to squeeze in Florida for an official visit on June 10, according to 247Sports.

The 5-foot-10-inch, 200-pound back has made the trip to the Swamp once before when he made an unofficial visit earlier this spring with his family, including his father Verron Haynes, a former Georgia Bulldogs standout who played eight seasons in the NFL.

“I’d be lying… if I didn’t say that right now, as far as all the whole recruiting goes, [Florida] did the best thus far from the standpoint of courting Justice the athlete and courting Justice the person,” he told 247Sports in a phone interview in regards to their recent visit.

“It was a really impressive visit, definitely one of the most impressive visits Iā€™ve had ever,” according to Justice himself, per GatorsOnline after his early April stop. “They showed love as soon as I got there. The whole army of staff was down there. The players also knew me. I met [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] and [autotag]Chief Borders[/autotag].”

Haynes ranks No. 45 overall and No. 3 nationally at his position, according to the 247Sports Composite, while theĀ On3 Consensus lists him at Nos. 38 and 4, respectively. Georgia is way out front in his recruitment with a 94.6% chance of landing him, per On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, while Florida sits in third place with a 1.2% chance.

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This 4-star linebacker stopping by Florida next Tuesday

Florida is hosting four-star linebacker Raul Aguirre on Tuesday along with a handful of other recruits.

Recruiting is expected to slow down now that the Orange and Blue game has passed, signaling the end of spring football for Florida this year.

But it’s always recruiting season for head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and staff, and they are still hosting prospects until the next NCAA dead period takes place. One prospect visiting the Gators on Tuesday is four-star linebacker [autotag]Raul Aguirre[/autotag], according to Gators Online.

The Fayetteville, Georgia, native is ranked as the 123rd overall prospect and as the ninth-best player at his position, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Florida originally presented a scholarship offer to Aguirre on March 28. This will be his first time ever visiting the Swamp.

He has already established a strong relationship with Napier and his coaching staff but Aguirre also has a connection to a player on the Gators roster: [autotag]Chief Borders[/autotag]. He said Borders and his father have told him about how much they have enjoyed the coaching change so far.

For Aguirre, Napier and inside linebackers coach [autotag]Jay Bateman[/autotag] have been the main points of contact from Florida.

This spring he has taken visits to Alabama, Ohio State and Nebraska. Aguirre also holds offers from Georgia, Miami, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, Auburn and Penn State as well as others.

He said he isn’t sure where Florida fits into his recruitment until he makes it down to the Swamp for a visit. Aguirre will obviously find out on Tuesday.

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Florida announces rosters for Orange and Blue game

Who are Gators fans cheering for Team Orange or Team Blue? Florida’s spring game is this Thursday night.

Florida’s first football game under new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is finally here. The Orange and Blue Game is Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EDT and can be seen on SEC Network+. Ahead of the game, the Gators unveiled their rosters for the spring game on Wednesday.

The rosters consist of 52 and 48 players, respectively, even though outside linebacker [autotag]Chief Borders[/autotag], running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag]Ā and cornerback [autotag]Jordan Young[/autotag] are expected to play for both teams. Napier and Florida also divided up its on-the-field coaching staff and off-the-field analysts and staffers. Women’s basketball coach [autotag]Kelly Rae Finley[/autotag] and men’s basketball coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] will serve as the honorary captains for the Orange and Blue teams.

Napier has elected to put the first-team offense and defense on opposite teams. The first-team defense will be on Orange while the first-team offense will be on Blue. Orange’s defense will be highlighted by safety [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag], defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag]. Blue’s offense will be led by quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], wide receiver [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] and offensive linemen [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag].

It’s an exciting time for Florida fans because it’s their first chance to see Napier in charge and the program’s first spring football game in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here is a look at the rosters for both teams:

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Florida head coach Billy Napier relying heavily on former Gators

Florida head coach Billy Napier has relied on former Gators early in his tenure as the program’s new head coach.

New Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has built an army off the field, hiring nearly 50 plus people to attempt to get the program back to its glory days. However, he also relies on people who aren’t on his payroll to help him early in his tenure as the Gators’ new head coach. Napier has consistently leaned on former Florida coaches, administrators and players for advice and feedback.

“One of the most important things we do is ask questions and listen,” Napier said about reaching out to former Gators after Floridaā€™s second spring scrimmage. “I really think history is the best indicator of the future, so when Florida was successful, what contributed to that? What were the factors that led to that success? Iā€™m always looking for a way to improve, and I want to know the history of the place we’re at.”

For example, former Gators quarterback and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner [autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] has been a constant fixture at Napier’s practices this spring. The media has observed Napier and Wuerffel talking after several practices. He also invited Wuerffel to speak to the team earlier this spring.

Napier also named the team’s Man of the Month Award after him, which was first given to linebacker[autotag] Chief Borders[/autotag]. Florida said the award is given to a player who exemplifies the Gator Standard, demonstrating holistic excellence in leadership, character, service and academics.

Wuerffel said that he has been encouraged by what he has seen from Napier so far.

“The sheer number of quality people that are part of this program now, from all the coaches to the people doing all sorts of other aspects,” he said. “The GatorMade program, [autotag]Katie Turner[/autotag] and Bri (Wade) and what they’re doing with recruiting, it is really remarkable. I’ve been very grateful to have a little bit of bandwidth in my life and said, ‘Hey, if I can help with some things…’ So I’ve been around a little more, and I’m enjoying it.”

Wuerffel isn’t the only former Gator Napier has spoken to. He conversed with several former Florida players who came to work out at Florida’s Pro Day.

Napier is taking the right approach in his attempt to bring Florida back to the top of the college football world by keeping former Gators involved with the program and the process.

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Gators 2021 recruit linebacker Chief Borders breaks record

Florida Gators 2021 linebacker recruit Chief Borders earned himself a place in the annals of Heard County, Georgia, sports history.

Florida Gators linebacker recruit Chief Borders, a member of the 2021 class, earned himself a place in the annals of Heard County, Georgia, sports history this season for his high school team. The 6-foot-3-inch, 230-pound middle defender set the record for tackles in a season for his respective county with 146, breaking the previous mark of 139.

Graddick Sports reported the news on its official Twitter on Tuesday.

“Heard County Brave & Future Florida Gator @ChiefBorders
set the new Heard Co. record for tackles in a single season with 146! Borders broke the previous mark of 139 set by current MTSU Raider Andrew Leak in 2017. Borders had 60 solo tackles, 4 sacks & avg. 14.6 tackles per game.”

Borders is a 247Sports Composite four-star and the No. 19 outside linebacker in the class, as well as the sixth-highest rated of Floridaā€™s 14 current commits in the 2021 cycle. He received a three-star rating from Rivals.com.

Recruited by linebackers coachĀ Christian RobinsonĀ and defensive coordinatorĀ Todd Grantham, he committed to the Gators on November 10, 2019, choosing Florida over the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Toledo Rockets, Virginia Tech Hokies and 18 reported others.

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Michigan State makes top 5 for coveted linebacker, decision looming

Florida commit Chief Borders is reassessing his choice and will make a final decision on Thanksgiving. The Spartans have made the final cut.

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Since the day he arrived, recruiting has been emphasized as a top priority for Mel Tucker and his staff. Spartan fans have seen that emphasis and the impact it has made in a big way with the 2021 recruiting class. Mel Tucker is still on the prowl and has gone into SEC country to try and pull his next target.

Chief Borders is a highly coveted 4-star outside linebacker out of Heard County High School in Carrollton, Georgia. Borders has received some high praise, with some people comparing his play style to Khalil Mack among others. The 6-foot-5, 245 pounder is a menace on the defensive side of the ball with a scary combination of size and speed.

Borders has been committed to the University of Florida since November 2019 but that decision is now in question once again and the final decision will be made Thursday on Thanksgiving.

Michigan State has made the final grouping with a very stacked field including Florida State, LSU, Stanford and current placeholder Florida.

Many believe that Stanford is the current frontrunner to earn the outside linebacker’s talents after his acceptance to the school, although Michigan State is not to be counted out. Chief refers to Coach Tucker as “Uncle Mel” and the coaches relationship with the family dates back to his days at the University of Georgia. That relationship Tucker has with the Borders family has single-handedly kept the Spartans in the race and there is a solid chance Michigan State could be the winners here.

Be sure to follow Chief’s Twitter page throughout the day tomorrow for the final decision.

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